More frustration for trust as trail extension delayed again
The extension of the Lake2Lake Trail has hit another bump but the Fiordland Trail Trust hopes to be back on track by the end of the year.
Chairman David Boniface said yesterday the trust opted to pause the construction work from Patience Bay to Sinclair Rd as it was waiting for a decision from the Department of Conservation about an amendment for which it applied in December.
In August last year, it "finally" received the green light from Doc to extend the trail after it requested a wildlife permit and a lizard management plan for the area.
The trust would also include a modified vegetation clearance method, and ensure the trail formation width was no more than 2.2m.
Mr Boniface said the work with a specialist herpetologist started in October and, during this time, part of the vegetation was also cleared.
However, after finding no evidence of the Southland green skink, which triggered the need for a plan, the trust sought an amendment with Doc to allow construction to the originally consented 3m trail formation, Mr Boniface said.
"We proceeded to construct from Patience Bay up to Sinclair Rd within the conditions that the wildlife permit set for us and we have got to a point where we have applied for an amendment to those conditions to enable us to build a safe two-way trail.
"We have not had that approval. There are some complications around the Wildlife Act being challenged ... and I think our application for the amendment has been caught up in all of that."
He hoped to have it sorted by spring so the trust could continue to construct the extension which was about 2km long.
If the trust gets the approval wanted, it would take about three weeks to a month for the work to be completed, he said.
Mr Boniface said the last delay added to several other hicups they had encountered since the original consents and agreements were obtained in mid-2022.
'We've been frustrated from a long way back.
"We've had a resource consent in place for — it'll be three years in August and our funders and the trail users in that are pretty concerned by all this.
"We've got a lot more we want to get on with and this is delaying us, our progress as a trust."
At present, the trail, which cost about $1.8 million to build, is about 35km long.
Doc was approached for comment, but was unable to reply to questions by deadline.
luisa.girao@odt.co.nz
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